Happy Birthday Vladi!

Its hard to believe, but Vladi is eight years old today!

And he is as handsome and sweet as ever.

Tanji may know its V's b-day, there has been a little less punching,

wrestling, and hissing (although Vladi loves that too).

Uschi even let V watch him watch grass and little vermin

for a while. Very nice!

Lot of hugs for everyone!

Valentine's Day Part II

We may be working seven days a week, but we know to
still spend plenty of mushy time with the boys.

Heading home with vanilla-y heart cookies...

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, they love me! (yep)

Tanji gently sniffs and dutifully licks.

Uschi only wants one thing for Valentine's Day, and he's got it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Part I

We haven't been blogging as much lately because work has been

busier, but we've found a different creative outlet by making

displays for our 700+ students see and interact with.

Last week we had a Valentine's Day display; fun and...

...a bit of science too.

Learning heart anatomy can be relatively painless...

...with a good dose of chocolate.

Last week we had cats on display as well,

with plenty of pictures of T, U, and V.

 There are a lot of interesting things to learn about cats;

for some reason this got even more attention than our

dog display (just like kittens on the internet).

 Even though Uschi would have probably loved the attention

of perching in the window, we had a toy stand-in.

 This week we have a predator-prey theme going...

 The boys would probably all get a kick out of trapsing

through this window.

We better get home and spend some quality time with the boys.

Happy Valentine's Day!

T & U are nine years old!

Tanjiro and Uschi-Swirl turned nine on Tuesday, and just like some

other parents, we kind of phoned this one in.  Sure, the boys got a long

walk outside and lots of attention and play-time, but instead of b-day

cake, we ended up with...

Birthday Muffins.

Dots of chocolate chips for spotted T, who is not amused.

Almond-swirl for marbled U, who doesn't stop for muffins,

And crystal sprinkles for snowy V, who can't be left out of the fun.

Still Life

Vladi is proving that any goodies can look like a classical still life

painting, as long as a pretty cat is posing alongside.

Happy Inside

Maybe the boys are getting older and wiser.  This winter if the

day is too cold or wet, they seem perfectly happy to curl up

for a nap, rather than head outside for a walk.

Living in Paradise

2014 had a lot of things going for it, one of the biggest for us

is that we paid off our house!  It may be a one-room studio but it

has the most magnificent views and its our home with the boys,

so its pretty perfect.

Going Out

It may be uncharacteristically cold outside (32 F mid-day),

but when Tanji gives you this look, its time to bundle up

and take everyone out for a walk.

Father Christmas

We picked up a Father Christmas figurine this year,

and the boys aren't sure what to make of it.

Normally any tchotchke that we get as a gift immedately heads out to Goodwill, and we don't have any countertop decorations to speak of.  But for some reason we just fell for this old Santa figurine.  Mark gave it a few repairs...

...and the boys have been circling in a menacing manner.

Uschi may be wondering why we need anything pretty

when we already have him.

Father Christmas' days may be numbered.

Still a Winner

Its the third day of Cat's Meow play, and its still a winner.

All three boys can play together for a LONG time.

Although at times, Uschi and Vladi just watch...

...while Tanji traps, bites, and kicks his prey.